Many wellbore operations necessitate anchoring a tool downhole and within a wellbore. Such downhole tools include, for example, torches, perforators, setting tools, fracturing equipment, and the like (collectively referred to herein as downhole tools).
A need exists, in the oil and gas industry, for the ability to anchor, clock in direction, and eventually release a transient tool or the tool string that will allow for precise and effective tool system performance. Enabling the precise location of: a force, an application of torque, a sensor, a perforation or cut, and a drilling exit or other downhole operation, at an optimal position, further reduces the requirement to reposition multiple-run, single location tools and tool processes, while reducing the chances of misguided or off-position deployments of the tools.
Some existing tool systems, deployed within a wellbore, are constructed with control lines surrounding the periphery of a pipe or tubular string. Removal of the pipe requires cutting both the pipe at the target location, and the control line or lines. Without cutting both, operators cannot complete the required finishing operations. Cutting operations that are powerful enough to cut through all the elements, however, are restricted in their use due to the danger of causing harm to the backside infrastructure. Thus, having the ability to make multiple, precise cuts at a single target plane can enable all elements to be cut. A need exists for placing tools that enable precise energy delivery for cut effectiveness.
To precisely position a tool, it is useful to place an anchor or anchoring system in a single position, such that multiple tools may lock into that anchor or anchoring system for an exact placement and positioning of each tool. With the anchor placed downhole, the tool does not have to rely on measurement or clocking from the surface. Alternatively, anchoring systems are needed to enable the positioning and repositioning of the same or multiple downhole tools, and to enable the orienting or clocking of the tool while downhole. The clocking of the downhole tool enables future operations to be performed by the downhole tool at the same downhole location or at an offset. The offset can include an angular offset (e.g., azimuthal, radial, polar, etc.) of the tool or a positional offset of the location of the downhole tool (e.g., a lower or higher depth within the wellbore, from the previous location within the wellbore at which the prior operations were conducted).
When screwed together and properly torqued, joints between pipes within a tubular string become relatively seamless, and the lack of distinguishable features makes the joints difficult to locate using conventional well logging devices. While casing collar locators and similar devices can assist in positioning a tool within a tubular string, existing devices are limited in their accuracy, which may generally be, at best, in the range of a few feet. A joint target within a tubular string may be just inches in length, requiring far more precise placement of a tool than current collar locators and similar devices can provide.
Completion processes taking place within a wellbore often require placing sensors, perforating a wall for communication, and perforating a casing such that contact with a geological feature is made. Operations such as gauge integration, cement squeezing, fracturing and jet drilling become subsequent processes.
Other positioning systems can include providing physical features within the interior of a tubular string that interact with corresponding physical features of a locating tool; however, these positioning systems require numerous, precisely crafted features to ensure proper function and interaction, including various moving parts to cause selective engagement between corresponding features.
A need exists for removable positioning apparatus and methods for positioning a tool with complementary mating integration capacity within a tubular string, for enabling precise positioning of anchorable tools at a preselected location, including joints, within the tubular string to facilitate the effectiveness of the tools. Having the flexibility of a selectively placed locking feature within a tubular member greatly enhances the tool's ability to positively fixate a tool, using pre-positioned anchoring profile mechanisms within a wellbore system.
A further need exists for positioning apparatus and methods usable for positioning a tool within a tubular string that are simple in construction and function, able to incorporate reusable, machinable, and re-machinable parts that are able to accommodate a variety of latching and/or engaging orientations.
A need also exists for positioning apparatus and methods usable for positioning a tool within a tubular string that are conveyable and deployable utilizing readily available setting tools.
The present embodiments meet these needs.